When you were mine
by pretty-little-harding
Summary: What if..? A variety of one shots that are not connected. All inspired by certain songs. The stories don't necessarily follow the PLL storyline.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N This is something I wrote while I was waiting for my flight in Rome. I was sitting on the floor, listening to Lady Antebellum when "When you were mine" came up and I started writing. Ever since I've been writing down songs by Lady Antebellum that somehow fit Aria's and Ezra's relationship and I want to write it as "what if.." chapters that aren't connected.**

**I don't own anything. Not the song (the italics are the lyrics), not the characters. The only thing I own is my imagination.**

**Anyways.. here we go.. oh oh oh.. please keep in mind that I'm not a native speaker and this time I'm really not sure about the tenses.. (if anybody would like to be a beta-reader for further "what if"-chapters I'd be forever grateful!**

Aria was lying in bed, tears rolling down her face. She didn't even try to brush them away. She had been listening to that song for the last hours.

_Words spoken, my heart open,  
No I never had butterflies like that,  
We danced in the moon glow,  
Your hands moved slow,  
You kissed me on the lips;  
Swore I wouldn't look back._

_It was just like we were flying, in another time,  
I felt the world was ours for the taking,  
When I fell into your eyes,  
Never a doubt that we would make it if we tried,  
You promised you'd never break my heart,  
Never leave me in the dark.  
Said your love would be for all time,  
But that was back when you were mine.  
__  
_

There was no second song like that. No song that described their relationship - their love - better. She used to think that "Just a Kiss" was their song, especially after that night at the masquerade.

But that was before.. before he had left her without saying goodbye, without a call or a letter. It just didn't seem like him to leave like that. After all they'd gone through together. He'd promised to never break her heart, because after Jackie he knew how it felt if someone broke your heart.

"No matter how hard I try, I can't stay away from you-" What a fool she'd been to believe him. Anger was starting to rush through her veins and for the first time in days she felt somewhat alive. The constant sadness had weighed her down, leaving her breathless and in tears.

She hadn't left her room for a week - her parents never asked why, probably thinking this was about everything that had happened with Mona's arrest and Maya's death. But Aria didn't even think about telling them the truth. Not after everything both of them had done to her and Ezra. If she'd tell them now, they would probably only tell her that that was exactly what they had tried to prevent. They'd be happy that he was finally out of town. Happy to know that everything they'd told her about Ezra just being another college boy chasing after younger girls, had come true.

"Maybe they were right all along." she muttered quietly. Why else would he just disappear? She didn't even bother to check her phone for any messages anymore, something she'd done on a regular basis for the first three days. If he didn't want to reply to her countless calls, messages and emails, he probably wouldn't start calling her now.

The worst thing about today was the fact that it was September 1st. Their anniversary. Earlier, they had made jokes that they should recreate their first date. She'd mocked him, saying that she wouldn't call it a date since they'd ended the night in the bathroom, but on the inside she loved the idea. It was "them".

Sighing, she got up. If she didn't show up downstairs at some point, her parents might corner her in her room, making her talk about things she wasn't ready to talk about. So she made her way downstairs and as soon as she caught a glimpse of who was standing on their front porch, she froze.

Aria wasn't sure what to think of the scene she was witnessing this very moment - her mom and Ezra talking or arguing, she wasn't sure which of the both it was. Ella was gesturing wildly, Ezra was taking runs between trying to interject and looking down with a somewhat sheepish expression on his face. Since it was only the two of them, Aria guessed that her father wasn't home. He wouldn't take the chance of letting Ezra stand on the front porch. At least not if there was a slight chance that Aria would come downstairs and see him.

The last few days, she had spend thinking about the "what if's". What if she would see him again. Beck then she'd been sure that she'd just walk up to him and let him embrace her. But right now, she only felt anger boiling through her whole body. Anger because he had left her. Anger because he dared to just show up at her house in the middle of the day. She didn't expect to feel this kind of anger, so she just walked downstairs, opened the front door and started yelling at him. She didn't even care that her mom was still standing there.

Ella took a step back to let the two lovers face each other. Aria's glare had given away all her emotions and Ella knew that she should better not stand in her way. She didn't want to die of frostbite any time soon.

"How could you?" Arias's voice was as cold as ice. "One week you tell me you can't stay away from me, no matter how hard you tried, make love to me for the first time, kiss me for the whole town to see and then you just fall off the face of the earth - again!" She took a step, coming closer to him just to shove him away. He, however, didn't move. She had every right to be angry, he even had expected it. Maybe not to the extent he was now experiencing, but he had.

"Do you have any idea what I've gone through the last week with everything that had happened? I just needed you here, with me. Instead of being held by you, I listened to ,When you were mine' for the last days, thinking that this fit so much better now you've disappeared again." With every word she spoke and every shove, her demeanor changed slightly. Hot tears of anger became tears of sadness and rejection. "Did the last year mean nothing to you, Ezra? Not even enough to say goodbye?" Her voice was barely a whisper.

"Honey?" Aria turned around at the sound of her mother's voice. She hadn't been aware that Ella was still standing there. "You should probably let him explain." Aria raised her eyebrows in a silent plea to say more, but instead of saying more, Ella just turned around and left both of them alone on the front porch.

Aria crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him, silently giving him the permission to tell his side of the story.

"You have every right to be angry." he stated, shoving his hands into the the pockets of his jeans. "In fact, your mom already yelled at me for the last fifteen minutes about what I did to you during the last week... well, except that she didn't know about our night together until now." Aria blushed a deep crimson. She hadn't thought about what she had said earlier.

"What I'm trying to say is.." he was searching for the right words to say. He was fine as long as it came to writing about feelings, talking about them was a lot harder. "I know that a simple 'I'm sorry.' won't be enough, but that's what I am. I am sorry. So much, Aria. Sorry for what you had to go through. Sorry for leaving the way I did. Sorry for not being there for you when you needed me the most. I know I'd promised you not to leave again without saying where I'm going. Sorry for making you think I don't love you."

"Then why did you? Leave the way you did?_You promised you'd never break my heart, __never leave me in the dark." _she quoted the song she'd been listening to not quite 10 minutes ago. He knew the song well enough. Ever since Aria had been singing along to it in his car while they were on their way to Philadelphia.

_Said your love would be for all time._

"I meant everything I'd said. No matter how hard I try, I can't stay away from you." He took a step towards her, still looking at his feet. "Your dad paid me another visit after that night at the ball. Apparently, somebody from Hollis saw us there and asked him about us the next day. He told me to stay away from you and threatened to call the cops, again. So that's what I did I went up to my folks place to clear my head, and look for a new you job - you know I need one. But it seems like history repeats itself ad everything felt like the last time. When I'd run away from you to New York."

Even the thought of that week, early in their relationship, made them both cringe. And he knew that he'd done the same thing, the same mistake, all over again.

"I know I promised not to run again, Aria, but I was scared. Not really scared for myself, my job or my reputation. But scared for you. Scared what people would say and think. Scared I would mess up your family again."

"What made you come back?" she inquired, tears slowly running down her cheeks.

"Your mom."

"What?" Her eyes were wide.

"She called me after she'd cornered Spencer about what was wrong with you. Seems like she had a feeling that this wasn't all about Mona or Maya, especially after she had noticed how cheerful and content Byron seemed under the circumstances. She told me to come back after I had explained everything to her. And she told me to do what I just did - tell you everything. Without trying to find excuses. She told me that this might be the only way to see if you would give me - us - a second chance."

He took another step, taking her hands in his, marveling at the fact that they fit together like puzzle pieces.

"What about my dad?" Aria raised her head to look at Ezra, a slight glimmer of hope evident in her eyes.

"Ella said, she would talk to him, make him see that what have is real and not just some crush you have on your teacher or that I am just some other college boy."

He brushed a strand of hair from her face. A familiar gesture that made Aria's heart flutter and made her realize how much she had missed him, missed this - small gestures that meant the world to her.

"Promise to never break my heart?"

"Never." he promised and leaned down to meet her lips in a soft kiss. A kiss that wasn't passionate, but gentle. A kiss that was supposed to mend their broken hearts. He wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her up, her legs twining around his waist, never breaking their kiss. She kissed him with everything she had, never getting enough of him.

A cough interrupted them and as Ezra looked up and Aria buried her head in the crook of his neck, he saw Ella leaning in the doorframe.

"Thank you." Ezra's voice was barely loud enough for Ella to hear.

"Always."


	2. Something 'bout a woman

**A/N Thanks for the nice reviews on the first chapter :)**

**I don't own anything. Not the song, not the characters. The only thing I own is my imagination.**

**The song: "Something 'bout a woman" by Lady Antebellum. Lyrics are in italics. The other italics are the past.  
****The idea: What if Aria and Ezra got married and live in New York...**

_Well there's somethin' bout a woman with my t-shirt on_

_hair in her eyes and no makeup on_

_standin' there smiling with my coffee cup_

_Ya, there's somethin' 'bout a woman that's easy to love_

He saw his wife standing in the kitchen, slightly swaying with the music that was drifting through the room. She hadn't seen him yet and for a moment he just stood in the doorframe, watching her.

It was just after 7am but the sunlight was already seeping through the windows of their apartment, bathing the room in a soft glow. Her hair was messy, but he didn't care. The messy curls were falling halfway across her back. Just last night he had been running his hands through them, trying to disentangle the strands - a loving gesture that always calmed her down.

His eyes drifted downwards, noticing that she was wearing one of his really old college shirts, one she had probably stolen from him when they first met eight years ago.

_She's a child_

_She's a lady_

_She's got everything that I could ever need _

At the age of 24, Aria had just graduated from NYU, striving to get her first children's book published. The had gotten married a little over a year ago, not caring if people thought they were crazy for getting married before Aria got her degree. They had been together for seven years, after all. Other couples got married earlier in their relationship all the time. That's why they just went along with it - not caring what people thought.

With every sway, the soft fabric of the shirt shifted lightly and he noticed the faintest hint of a tiny baby bump. Due to her tiny frame, it was barely visible, but if you knew it was there you saw it. A smile crossed his face as he saw how Aria had one of her hands draped over her stomach, the other was clutching a coffee cup, while she was still swaying to the music with her eyes closed, completely oblivious to the fact that he was watching her. Dots of light surrounded her as the morning light hit her face. She looked so young with his old shirt and her hair down. Only her pregnancy might give a hint that she was very much a woman.

_"Ezra, can you get that?" Aria yelled from the bathroom. "It's probably the pizza guy."_

_It was their usual friday evening. No matter what they had planned for the night, they always made sure to have dinner together and maybe watch a movie. It was a tradition they had started when they still had to hide their relationship - back in Rosewood, in that tiny apartment 3B. And now, with their busy lives in the city that never sleeps, it as their way to decelerate. A way to stop and take a deep breath. Tonight was a night they had nothing else planned. No faculty mixer to attend, no friends birthday and no other party. Just the two of them for a whole night - Ezra smiled at the thought of that. Life had been hectic in the last months. Aria's finals and her thesis and Ezra's new job at another high school in the city._

_When he had paid for the pizza they had ordered earlier - ordering food instead of cooking was part of the tradition - he set the table in the living room before he wandered into the kitchen to get a bottle of wine. "Do you want red or white wine, honey?" he yelled across the apartment since Aria was still in the bathroom with the door closed. "Aria?" he made his way over to the bathroom when he got no answer. "Are you okay?" As he reached for the handle, the door opened and Aria stood before him. They stood for several seconds before Aria just flung her arms around his neck and wrapped her legs around his waist. It took Ezra a second to regain his balance since she had caught him off-guard. "Baby, what's wrong?" his voice was thick with concern as he felt tears on his neck and heard her sobbing. He caressed her back, reassuring her that everything was going to be okay, telling her that he was there for her. He knew that she would talk when she was ready to talk. "I don't think I'll have wine today.. or the next months.." she whispered into his neck when she had calmed down a bit. Her voice on his neck caused him to shudder as her breathing caressed the soft skin just beneath his ear. "Why?" he whispered, not wanting to break the spell that was surrounding them that very moment. He had gotten the message she was trying to convey, he just wanted her to say it out loud, to make it more real._

_"You're going to be a dad in some months.. I'm pregnant, Ezra."_

_By the end of the sentence, she was sobbing again but this time he knew that her tears were tears of happiness. He held her tight, burying his face in her hair, trying to put every single emotion that was running through his veins in that bone-crushing hug. "I love you so much, Aria. You just made me the happiest man on this planet." Whether she had heard him or not, he didn't care but judging from the fact that she snuggled even closer to him, as if she was trying to crawl under his skin, he guessed she had._

He remembered the rest of the night as he watched her in the kitchen where she was still dancing around. They had been lying on the couch, their hands intertwined on Aria's stomach. All tears had long dried and had left a feeling of utter happiness.

"When do you want to tell everybody? Your parents.. the girls.." She shifted slightly so she could watch him as she spoke.

"Would you be mad if we tell them when I've passed the first critical twelve weeks? With everything.." he silenced her with a kiss so she didn't have to finish the sentence. It wasn't like he didn't know why she wanted to wait. This pregnancy didn't come as a surprise. It was very much planned. At least it had been.. For the last months they had tried to make it work...until Aria had lost a child one morning. A child she didn't even know she was carrying. If it was due to the stress she had been under or if it just wasn't meant to be, they didn't know. That's why Ezra didn't even think about pressuring her into telling everybody right away. But as of today, she was past the critical point and last night they had agreed to invite everybody over for dinner and tell them.

"What are you smiling about?" his wife looked up to him with a mischievous glint in her eyes. She was still swaying her hips, making it hard for him to concentrate since she was only wearing his shirt and a pair of boy shorts.

"You.. us.. how beautiful you are right now and how everything is falling into place." He pulled her in for a hugh and rested his forehead against hers. "I always wanted this life.." he whispered. "What life? The one where you knock up your former student?"

"Way to ruin a perfectly romantic moment, Mrs. Fitz."

"Awww... you know I love you, right? Even though you made me fat.."

Ezra laughed at her childish comment. "I do, but it would be nice if could show me again just how much.." he wriggled his eyebrows suggestively, pulling her back into the bedroom as she laughed.


	3. Looking for a good time

**I don't own anything. Not the song, not the characters. The only thing I own is my imagination.**

**The song: "Looking for a good time" by Lady Antebellum. Lyrics are in italics. The other italics are the past.**

**The idea: What if Ezra was Arias professor at NYU and they meet at a club one night..**

**I would love to get some reviews on this one cause I loved the idea and it's taken me quite a while to write it the way I liked. I'm thinking about making this a 2-part chapter.. what do you think? And if you have any ideas for me: tell me :) - Karo**

_Girl you're beautiful_

_You're bout near perfect_

_But I bet somebody's already told you that_

_Name your poison_

_Name your passion_

_Cause a boy like me just couldn't help but ask_

He shouldn't look at her like that. Shouldn't admire how she moved with the music. How her short dress exposed her smooth legs and how those black high heels made her taller than she really was. How her curly hair fell across her back and contrasted with her fair skin that was exposed due to the backless cut of the dress. She was his student. He had looked at her over a desk for the last months, had argued with her about literature and history. She had lingered after class, to ask him questions and to ask his advice for the stories she was writing. It was the first time she let somebody read what she wrote. "I'm impressed." he told her and she cocked her head in question, urging him to go on. "If you're writing for yourself, it's pure passion." That's when she told him she always wanted to be a writer. "Then it's good you chose NYU to study English." A smile lit up her face. "I guess it is.. and I heard the professors are the best." He blushed a deep crimson, still not used to the fact that some of the students hit on him. It was different with her, though. It wasn't just that fact that she hit on him, he could have ignored that if it was any other student, what bothered him was the fact that he wanted even more. To make her laugh, to spend endless hours talking about movies and literature, to hold her in his arms during the night. He wanted to love her and wake up next to her.

_Put in a long hard week doing this nine to five_

_And you're just the girl to get that off my mind_

_You shouldn't've worn that dress_

_You shouldn't dance like that_

_You got this little heart of mine in overdrive_

He shook his head, trying to get rid of the memories, and took a sip of his scotch. "So, tell me about that new job of yours. Any hot students, Professor Fitz?" Hardy nudged him with his elbow whilst Ezra nearly chocked on the burning liquid. "Hit a never with that one, didn't I?" His best friend knew him well enough. Actually, he sometimes knew him better than Ezra did himself. They'd met in college where living in a shared dorm room had forced them together, not minding their different views on life and their characters that did differ more than they were akin. His friend had been distracted for the last minutes, not even listening when he told him some nonsense story about saving an old lady that was being robbed by Spiderman. That's when he knew it had to be a girl. Ezra was, as Hardy had coined it, the perfect mix between stud and nerd. The right looks and the perfect personality to pick every girl he liked - which wasn't something that was in Ezra's nature. He didn't just look for one night stands. Engagement, marriage, children, a house in one of the suburbs of New York, a dog or a cat. That was Ezra Fitz' scheme of life in a nutshell. Being the writer he was, he longed for the spark that was supposed to ignite when you met your one true love. The spark numerous authors had described before him; In the stories he read as a kid, the stories that inspired him to start writing his own stories at the tender age of fourteen, the stories that inspired him to become an english teacher. It was that spark that seemed to always draw his eyes back to the dancing girl. He shook his head again, trying to get rid of the thoughts that haunted him since he had first met her. Heck, he didn't even know if he'd just imagined things.

Hardy followed Ezra's gaze to the dance floor, to find out which girl had him so intrigued. There were only four girls on the dance floor, surrounded by guys that tried to grab their attention. Knowing his friend, Hardy's money was on the tiny brunette. She was absorbed in the music, not caring about the boys that were trying to dance with her. As she looked up, her gaze met Ezra's and with a mischievous glint in her eye and a nod of her head, she urged him to join them on the dance floor.

Aria had seen him as soon as he had entered the club. At first, she hadn't recognized him because she was not used to seeing him in casual clothes and not his usual combo of a vest, dress shirt, tie and black slacks. A black beanie now covered his messy curls and the checkered shirt enhanced his lean build, especially since he'd left the first two buttons open. She let her eyes roam the rest of his body, noticing how his dark jeans hung off his hips. Involuntarily, she licked her lips, something she'd also done when she'd first seen him some months back.

_"I'm Ezra Fitz, 25 years old and you'll have the pleasure to let me teach you about the literature of the Progressive Era." Taking a sip from his coffee cup, he sat on the teacher's desk and urged them to tell something about themselves - names, ages, hometowns, favorite books - basically, everything that crossed their minds. He also shared things about himself, that's why Aria stayed behind after class. She wanted to ask him about his writing. How things first started and if he had any advice for her. _

It was probably risky to get him to dance with her - he was her professor after all - but she didn't really care. At least it was a way to find out if she'd just imagined things when it came to their frequent banters in class and their shared love for music, art and literature. There was a connection, at least she felt it, and she had set her mind on finding out if it was something real.

"You got it bad, man." Hardy gave him a friendly pat on the shoulder before he shoved him lightly, urging him to join the tiny one on the dance floor. "I can't.. it wouldn't be right.. she's my student." "So what? Weren't you the one who always wrote pages and pages about how everything feels right when you find your soulmate? So go! It's just a dance, Ezra. And if it turns out to be more - just stop thinking for once. That has never done you any good."

_How bout baby_

_We make a promise_

_To not promise anything more than one night_

_Complicated situations_

_Only get worse in the morning light_

_Hey I'm just lookin' for a good time_

Ezra Fitz wasn't a dancer. To be honest, it had always scared the crap out of him. He was content just to sit at a bar with a beer or scotch in his hand and watch the people that surrounded him. But this time it was different. As he made his way over to Aria, she saw him and just took the lead as if she sensed his insecurity. She placed his hands on her hips and turned around, pressing her back close to him and started swaying slowly, as if she wanted to take some small steps to test the ice she was standing on. He held his breath, not wanting to destroy this first encounter since he'd never been so close to her before. As she craned her head to one side, he just took Hardy's advice and stopped thinking for a moment. Cautiously, he moved her hair to the side, exposing her shoulder and placed gently butterfly kisses on her exposed skin. Aria didn't pull away, didn't turn around or say a word. She just tilted her head more to the side, granting him better access.

They danced through several songs before Aria grew impatient with the lack of progress they were making. She wasn't made of glass and she wasn't a child either - she knew what she wanted. That's why she grabbed his hand and pulled him into one of the darker corners of the club, owning herself a frown from Spencer and thumbs up from Emily and Hanna, who didn't know that Ezra wasn't just some random guy she picked up but her Professor. Spencer however, was in the same seminar as Aria and therefore knew about how inappropriate this was, or at least it was in her mindset.

As soon as she reached the corner, she pulled him against her and looked up to him, silently pleading him to kiss her. He albeit, was hesitant, not sure whether or not he wanted to cross that line with her. Not sure where this evening was headed. He shook his head, urging the unpleasant thoughts that haunted him, to go away. Aria sighed, thinking that his head-shaking was a sign of rejection. She felt stupid, for making him dance with her, for wanting him to kiss her, for thinking he wanted this, too. That's why she pushed him away. She didn't want him to explain why he was rejecting her. As she tried to squeeze past him, he grabbed her wrist and wheeled her around, simultaneously crushing his lips against her, taking her by surprise. The kiss was gentle, yet arousing. The perfect mix of passionate and caring. When he broke the kiss, Aria was grinning wildly, her face flushed and her eyes sparkling. "Let's get out of here.", he whispered.


End file.
